I have no objection at all to music games -- well, apart from Singstar, which I loathe. But I have to say, with the introduction of Guitar Hero and now Rock Band, I think this 'pretend musician' thing is getting out of hand.

As much as I hate Singstar, at least it was simple, and only required minimal external hardware. Rock Band, on the other hand, requires that you buy countless plastic instruments to plug into your console, each costing a fair chunk of change. That's in addition to the price of the game, so by the time you've got everything, you've spent £150, or more.

Even if you ignore all the money you have to spend, today I discovered something that really takes musical gaming to a new plateau of ludicrousness -- namely a Rock Bandsmoke machine and strobe light.

Yes, that's right kids, a smoke machine for your games console that is supposed to generate a more gig-like atmosphere in the comfort of your own home. What next, a Rock Band tour bus, or perhaps some Rock Band groupies you can hire per-day? How about Guitar Hero Hero, where you have to click buttons to a tune of someone clicking buttons?